By Sammi Bray
Besides, of course, the Class of 2021, the cross country team was the first thing I belonged to at St. Paul. Running has always been a huge part of my life. My mom ran for the first few months of her pregnancy with me, bundled me up as a baby to join her in a stroller, and I even received my first college acceptance letter, as well as the news of the first female vice president in the same run. When I visited St. Paul in middle school, I shadowed a fellow runner. Spoiler alert: she became one of my very best friends. From that moment on, the St. Paul cross country team became my second family. Running is not easy, nor am I an amazing runner. I’ll never be able to run marathons at the speed of Molly Seidel (a member of the US Olympics team) or 5ks like some of my teammates, but regardless, I give it my all. And by all, I really mean blood, sweat, and tears. I think that’s a testament of how much the team loves this sport. I’ve watched my teammates cross the line with scraped knees, missing shoes, even broken fingers, finishing their races barely breathing, ready to do it all again the next week. I’ve also experienced the extreme kindness of the running community. Everyone congratulating each other, even cheering for the kids wearing a different color jersey. The team has been incredibly supportive in all aspects of my life, from helping me study for tests, polishing up my college resume, and being a shoulder to cry on. My coaches are people I truly admire and look up to. In-season or not, both have been incredibly supportive and always listen to me and my teammates when we need someone to talk to. They’ve taught me discipline and the importance of continued hard work on the path to success. Being captain these past few months has been a great honor. It is without saying that the ending to the fall sports season is not the one that any of us wanted. On Monday, November 9th, all Naugatuck Valley League sport competitions were cancelled for the rest of the season due to an uptick in cases. After nearly four years with St. Paul and four seasons with the team, this abrupt ending is extra hard. I’ll miss seeing my teammates and coaches together, six days a week. I’ll even miss waking up at 6am to run hills on Saturday mornings. The team will be a big part of who I am for the rest of my life and I’m very grateful for every moment we’ve spent together these past four years. As we move on from the season, I hope that we can try and remember that we were lucky to have been able to run at all, that tomorrow is a better day. Run hard, run fast, and run smart. |
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